The strange death of the long-term prime minister

Keir Starmer may have survived a political near-death experience last week. But with a perilous by-election looming and punishing May elections on the horizon, few in Westminster think the prime minister is truly in the clear. With fresh jeopardy ahead, could Starmer become the fifth prime minister in a decade to fall short of a full term? This week on Westminster Insider, host Patrick Baker asks: why don’t UK prime ministers last anymore? Political historian and host of the Past, Present, Future podcast David Runciman argues the revolving door at the top reflects a wider global surge in political instability — driven above all by economic turbulence. Former Downing Street communications directors Katie Perrior, Lee Cain and James Lyons lift the lid on how Britain’s unforgiving 24/7 media machine is grinding down modern premiers. David Lammy's former adviser Ben Judah and the Institute for Government’s Jill Rutter probe whether the civil service is helping — or hindering — an era of increasingly fragile premierships. And the author and historian Anthony Seldon says a “massive collapse” in prime ministerial experience means many new arrivals in Downing Street are stepping into the job unprepared for the demands of governing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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The strange death of the long-term prime minister is an episode from POLITICO's Westminster Insider by POLITICO Europe.

This episode is 46:53 long.

This episode was published on Feb 20, 2026.

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